Realizer of Death : The Reaper

"Please don't hurt that girl!" Daisuke screamed frantically when he saw a scythe stuck in Hijiri's face. He was sure that Tenku wasn't joking with his words, but Daisuke couldn't act rashly when Hijiri was still in his hands.

Kaede, Satoru, and the others also felt the same way as Daisuke but were helpless in such a situation. If Tenku could easily defeat Hijiri, then the same thing would happen to them if they acted rashly.

Setsuka was confused about what to do. She wanted to help Hijiri, but she couldn't say a word in front of Tenku. Setsuka couldn't even move from where she was standing right now. Even though she was sure that the person in black was someone she knew, she had to ask him directly to be sure. But Setsuka didn't dare to do it.

"No! Please don't do that! You can punish me with anything, but don't ruin my face! I'm sorry! I'm sorry..." Hijiri's face turned pale with fear as the scythe pressed against her skin, and then she suddenly lost consciousness.

"Haa..." Tenku sighed when he saw Hijiri faint from fright at his words. He just wanted to scare the girl and teach her a lesson. Then Tenku threw Hijiri's body towards Daisuke.

"Quickly leave this place! If your goal in coming here is to look for members of that terrorist organization, he is there and is dead. So you don't have to worry about him anymore." Tenku pointed at Rho's corpse, which was not intact because his head had been separated from his body. Then he walked over to the dead body of the cactus golem to take the monster's core.

Daisuke and the others were shocked when they saw where Tenku was pointing. They didn't expect that he not only killed the fourth and fifth-level monsters alone but also the black-robed person.

After learning that the terrorist members who framed them had died, Daisuke realized their mission at Lake Shima had been completed. But their goal of pursuing him failed because they didn't get the information they wanted. Daisuke was a little disappointed, but there was nothing else they could do in that place.

But Daisuke became reluctant to leave the cave when he saw hundreds of monster corpses in front of him. The monsters' corpses would be of great use to their organization. They had obtained the cores from the armored lizardman and several other low-level monsters, but they got too little compared to those in that place.

Daisuke wanted to refuse, but he didn't dare to say his objection after seeing the strength shown by Tenku. He could only sigh and give instructions for the others to retreat.

On the other hand, Setsuka's feelings are very complicated right now. She wanted to say something to Tenku but didn't know how to start. By the time Daisuke and the others had retreated towards the cave entrance, She was still standing, and her eyes kept looking at Tenku. When Setsuka had gathered the courage to talk to Tenku, she saw the crown of the cactus golem suddenly float in the air and shine brightly.

"Be careful!" Setsuka shouted to warn Tenku and the others.

Boooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmm!

The crown of the cactus golem exploded and shot thousands of metal thorns in all directions in the cave. Tenku could handle the sudden attack but was overwhelmed because his body wasn't in the best condition. He had fought hundreds of monsters, drake, cactus golem, and wyvern alone. Even though his strength had been slightly replenished, he had almost exhausted his stamina in that battle. Unfortunately, genesis power could not restore his stamina to normal.

Setsuka created an ice barrier to block the thorns in front of him and the others. But the defense couldn't block attacks from fifth-level monsters.

Crash!

Setsuka's ice barrier broke easily, forcing her to fight the thorns head-on. She parried the attack with her sword and was blown several meters away by the impact.

"Ugh! So heavy!" Setsuka's hands trembled after her sword collided with the thorns.

When Setsuka was busily blocking the attack, she took the time to check on Tenku's situation. She sighed in relief after knowing that Tenku was fine.

Then Setsuka looked at Daisuke and the others. They had a hard time blocking the thorns. Luckily, they were already in that cave passage, and not much of that attack had come their way. But over time, they would be driven into a corner because Setsuka felt that the number of spikes shooting from the cactus golem's crown increased.

Setsuka didn't know how long the crown would keep shooting those spikes. She couldn't let that situation continue and put others in danger.

"You must leave this place now! I'll catch up with you once I get out of this rain of thorns!" Setsuka shouted at Daisuke. Her position was far from them, and he had difficulty moving under the attack.

"No! You must go with us!" Kaede quickly rejected Setsuka's words. She couldn't leave her best friend alone in that dangerous place.

"This isn't the time to argue, Kaede! Trust me! I will follow you soon!" Setsuka raised her voice and urged them to leave immediately.

"But..." Kaede still couldn't accept that. She wanted to reply to Setsuka's words, but Daisuke stopped her.

"I think we should do what Miss Fuyushima said. We can't stay in this place much longer because it's dangerous. If we don't take this opportunity to escape from here, I'm afraid we won't be able to get out of this cave." Daisuke tried to convince Kaede. He didn't want to leave Setsuka in that place, but he also couldn't let the others get hurt because he was the leader of that mission.

Kaede was confused when she heard that. She didn't have much time to think about it in such a situation. So Kaede reluctantly followed Daisuke's words.

"Alright. We must leave this place immediately!" Kaede looked at Setsuka and gritted her teeth. She was forced to leave her best friend in that place alone.

"You must catch up with us soon, Setsuka! We will be waiting for you outside the cave!" Kaede left those words to Setsuka before her figure disappeared along with the others in the darkness of the cave passage.

"I'll be sure to catch up with you. Of course, after I finished my business with him." Setsuka was relieved after seeing Kaede and the others leave the cave. Then she turned her eyes towards Tenku. When Setsuka wanted to say something, several thorns came at her at high speed and pierced her thighs and stomach.

"Aaaaahhhhh!" Setsuka screamed in pain and kept trying to block the thorns that rained down on her.

"I can't fall here because Kaede is waiting for me outside! Kohana is also waiting for me to come home! Most importantly, I have to ask him to clear my doubts and get out of here quickly!" Setsuka gritted her teeth to endure the pain in her thighs and stomach. She kept looking at Tenku because she wanted to ask something to confirm his identity.

"Are you… huh?" Setsuka suddenly stopped her words when she saw a thorn suddenly appear before her eyes. If that attack hit her, she would die instantly.

(Am I going to die? Do I have to die without being able to confirm his identity?)

Setsuka was not willing to die in that cave because someone was waiting for her outside. But she couldn't do anything in her current situation. Setsuka could only close her eyes and accept her fate.

Splash!

Setsuka was confused because the pain she was waiting for did not come. What she felt was something splashed onto her face. Setsuka touched her cheek, opened her eyes, and saw a thick red liquid on her hand. When she raised her head, she found the person in black appeared in front of her and blocked the thorns with his body.

"Why..." Setsuka said in a trembling voice when she saw the person's eyes.

Setsuka was scared when she saw Tenku's eyes for the first time. But when he met her again, he felt a sense of comfort that words couldn't describe. Right now, Setsuka felt that comfort and was sure that the person covering part of his face with the mask was Tenku.

"Ugh!" Tenku pulled the thorn stuck in his shoulder and had no intention of talking to Setsuka. Then he dashed towards the cactus golem's crown and swung his scythe, which he had compressed with genesis power.

Slash!

The cactus golem's crown split in two and stopped shooting thorns. After confirming that the monster was dead, Tenku felt relieved. But his face was pale, and his breathing was heavy because he had used too much strength in that battle. Tenku walked slowly toward the cactus golem's corpse to collect the monster's core.

"Wait a minute! Is there nothing you want to say to me?" Setsuka limped towards Tenku, but the other party kept quiet and ignored her. Setsuka didn't give up and continued to approach him. She had to make Tenku talk to her to clear her heart's discomfort.

"Have I done something wrong to you?" Setsuka asked worriedly, and tears flowed from her eyes. She was afraid she had done something unintentionally that would make Tenku angry.

Tenku suddenly stopped his hand movement when he heard Setsuka's voice. He wanted to answer the question because he couldn't bear ignoring her. But Tenku's face changed when he saw a magic circle on Rho's corpse. Setsuka also realized that and felt that something dangerous was about to happen.

"Quickly leave this place!" Tenku shouted at Setsuka, but it was too late because the magic circle had activated. Then dozens of magic circles with the same form appeared around the cave.

Tremble!

The entire cave shook violently, and stalactites fell. Moreover, the ground in that place collapsed, and Setsuka lost her footing.

"What!?" Setsuka was shocked because he suddenly fell into a hole of unknown depth.

"In the end, I died. But I'm happy because I already know his identity. Kaede, Kohana, father, mother, I'm sorry." Setsuka closed her eyes and prepared to accept her death. But before she fell deeper, her hand was suddenly grabbed by someone. Setsuka opened her eyes, and tears flowed when she saw the person holding her hand tightly.

"Tenku Okuihara..." Setsuka said softly the name of the boy who had saved her life many times.